Oops we really DO NOT want to go to sea on the River Great Ouse.....

Salters Lode to Denver in Pictures for you

With many thanks to the camera work of Annie of NB Moore2Life, I can show you our exit from Salters Lode today…. On the move once the waters were level..

Get the angle right coming out of the lock and slowly does it waiting for the incoming tide to turn the bow…

Except that the tide is outgoing, not incoming as the lock keeper had told us..

No Problem starts to drift to the left and the sea!  I open the throttle when I realised and tried to turn… No Problem hits the dreaded bank on the far side…

Now it is full throttle in reverse to get out of having to stay there all night!….

Had to go along way downstream backwards to get enough room to turn before still fighting to stay off the far bank…

Phew!….. Happy now and on the way to Denver Lock and the River Great Ouse for the summer

It's Ouse Tidal Day as we cruise to Salters Lode

Upwell to Silt Fen (Denver), Middle Levels and Gt Ouse, 7.5 miles 2 locks

We pulled the pins early this morning, well early for me.. but not before popping over the road from the visitor moorings to visit the butchers and the super veg shop where local produce is sold at really good prices.. they even had some broad beans this morning yummy..

Well Creek, which is part of the Middle Levels that runs through the centre of Upwell and Outwell, was Well Shallow.. and we skimmed the bottom as we pushed our way through.. “One and a half million to do it” shouted an Environment Agency chappie when I shouted across to him while he was doing a bit of mowing, “This bit needs dredging!”

I wonder if they ever will.. and I wonder if it will become impassable if they don’t?

From Upwell the fenlands really do appear as we cruise more and more into East Anglia and the county of Norfolk.. The land on each side of the ‘ditch’ is much lower.. you can see that from time to time…

Just the odd ‘oasis’ of trees being planted as windbreaks for any remote houses and farms.  At Nordelph we meet the lowest bridge on the Middle Levels at about 1.8 meters.. and our steel post that holds the satellite dish only just went under this one.. the dish by this stage is inside No Problem for safety..

Nordelph also has what must be the remotest Post Office in the country..

Yep, that is it, you can see the sign on the bent post (No that is not me with a wobbly camera!).  Once again this shows you how low the land is the other side of the bank of the channel.  The main village of Nordelph happens to be on the other bank, which means everyone has to get in their cars and drive round to the bridge to cross over to use the Post Office!!

Just a bit further back from this pic, the grass has been cut somewhat, so a boat could easily ‘visit’ to buy stamps!

We were not too long moored at Salters Lode ‘till the lockie came to see us and we signed the forms to exit the Levels.. I had booked to go through today, but THIS lock keeper was a replacement and didn’t know he had an oversized boat to deal with.

The lock is only 62ft long you see, and No Problem is 67ft which does cause him a Problem!

We have to go through when the tide on the Great Ouse is the same height as the water in the Middle Levels, so the lock gates can be opened to make a channel… Here we are waiting with the ‘little doors’ shut behind us.. this allows for just a few inches of difference..

The other boats will wait an hour before coming through.. waiting, waiting, waiting…

That’s it…. Level waters…go, go, go…

“The tide is coming in” ie left to right as you look at the pic “So it will take your bow round… don’t go near the bank on the far side or you will stick”.. Oh he was so wrong, so very wrong… more to follow in pics.. but we are moored safely on the River Great Ouse not far from Denver tonight.. so we did make it!!

There is no flow on the river at all here, yet upstream the River Great Ouse was shut yesterday due to strong streams… I didn’t hear about today.. and not yet had a chance to look at the two ‘Ds’ blog to see how they are getting on upstream above Earith on the Gt Ouse.  A couple of days ago they were fighting with the rapids.

Out walking the girls Meg and Lucy this evening, I spied a fox, some fallow deer, muntjac deer, and cuckoo along with hares, rabbits and the usual wildlife for this area, grebe, herons and the like.. Hey it’s great to be back over here.. Ya can’t beat it, you know..

Quicky blog tonight as we reach Upwell

March to Upwell, Middle Levels, 6.75 miles 1 lock

I have had no internet connection tonight.. well not earlier anyway, there is a bit of connectivity now so this might publish.. but today has been a day of two halves, this morning it was warm and sunny, this afternoon as we reached Upwell the rain came down steadily.. it’s still raining now actually, quite heavily..

Which gives me another major toot!

I phoned the environment agency this morning to see what the advice was for boating on the River Great Ouse.. and would you believe this, they told me that I would have to phone a 09 number to find out… at 60p a minute from a normal land line!!

I have put in a formal complaint beings I am a licence payer for the EA this year.  You see, some of my licence fee for this year is for British Waterways and some for EA because I have purchased a ‘Gold’ licence entitling me to move around on canals AND rivers for the whole year.. I am still raging at that tonight…

Some pics of today then now that I have been able to upload them…

Ha, this one was taken in March before we pulled the pins.. In 2005 we saw this bike in exactly the same place as we did in 2006, and would you have it.. there is was again this morning when I looked out the window!!  Good ‘ol plodder this is, and the lady goes off into the town with her shopping bag.. she must be a real regular!!

Once underway not much to see as we are ‘down’ in the drain, but we go right round this lot, so at least there is some interest and conversation with Vic to break the boredom of this part of the Levels..

From time to time a community of errrrrrrrrrrrrr narrowboats?.. well things that float anyway.  Take a look at this errrrrrrr paddle boat.  To power this you need to get on yer bike!!  It is powered as you can see by a bike seat and pedals!  I wonder if the ‘rider’ can actually see over the top though!

Lucy and Meg wait on the back while we prepare Marmont Priory Lock… no lock keeper around today.. note the postage stamp lock landing for No Problem too!!

That bridge is low.. no chimneys or satellite dishes allowed… this is Upwell bridge, and unbelievably, huge juggernaut trucks cross this on the ‘A’ road that goes over the Middle Levels, I really don’t know how it takes the weight.. in the pic is Moore2Life and Chas and Ann by the way.. so late afternoon is was a walk for the girls across some fenland.. the two K9s really enjoyed.. and so did I to be honest.. on the way back a stop at the excellent fish and chip shop at Outwell.. a place I had not been into for 23 years… came here often with eldest daughter Wendie when she rode her pony at the Mill Lodge junior showjumping internationals, we used to go there for fish and chips.. “The best in the world” she used to say.. well Wends, here they are gal!!..

Remember??

My 20 Questions Answered

1.  What is your favourite canal – Shropshire Union, the towpaths are less muddy than other canals for the girls in the winter

2. And your least-favourite? – At the moment, the Kennet and Avon, but I am sure that will change as I forget to hate it..

3. Who would be your ideal cruising companion? – Person = My hubby Vic.. Boat = Moore2Life

4. What was the last book you read?  – John Grisham… . 

5.  What's your favourite time of day on the waterways? – Dusk especially if there is a sunset.  I suppose most people will say early morning, but I only see one 6 o’clock in a day

6. What irritates you most on the waterways? – Rubbish left by boaters

7. When would you most like to have lived?  – Now

8. When did you last fall in? – Oh I need to think…….. 1974 it was, and it was at Ansty on the Oxford Canal, and it was soooooooooooo deep on a bend and I slipped off the gunnel, I was laughing my head off underwater.. wondering when I would hit the bottom.. I didn’t and I felt the urge to actually swim to the top!!

9. What did you want to be at 12? – I didn’t have anything in mind really, but I did want to be a Granny driving MGB-GT, never made that… and as an aside, from very young, I always said in my lifetime I wanted to visit Table Mountain in SA.. never will (or unlikely to now)..

10 If I didn't have narrowboating I'd ... ? –  I really dunno what I would do

11 Narrowboaters are ... ? – Narrowboaters are on the whole.. OK!

12 After a day's cruising I most look forward to ... – Squaring up No Problem and making a cuppa

13 The waterways need ... ? People like us, well as continuous cruisers we do it properly and care for our environment.. the waterways need people not to be in motorway mode too!

14 If you met the Waterways Minister on the towpath, what would you say to him? – Not a lot, what is the point in wasting your breath, he is only there as a PR excercise.

15 Windows or portholes? – Windows for sure… why darken your life?

16 Pumpout or cassette? – Pump out.  We know the difference, and as long as the ‘grey tank’ is big enough go for it….

Exciting start to Middle Levels but oh it does go on a bit..

Stanground to March, Middle Levels, 13 or so miles, 2 locks

I thought it was going to be a leisurely start this morning, but it was not to be.. “Hurry, I might have to close the lock.. I might just be able to get you both through” Cheery Tina the Stanground Lock keeper had her work cut out to get both No Problem and Moore2Life through before the river Nene rose even more.

There is a very low footbridge over the lock you see, at the front end.. Moore2Life first, and their cratch cover was JUST underneath.. “Don’t rock the boat” shouted Tina, and she quickly closed the gates and lowered them onto the Middle Levels..

Our turn next, except we had to go in backwards so our stern was under the bridge .. I doubt if the bow would have fitted.. might have done though.. still better safe than sorry.

Trouble is there is nowhere to turn in the vicinity of the lock, the only place is about one mile ahead.. So we hitched a lift with Moore2Life to take us backwards to where we could wind (turn the boat)..

Vic and Annie saw the funny side of something as we set off backwards down the Middle Levels..

You will notice that it is short sleeve attire for Vic and no movement of water.. a very calm morning, but once we had winded and started under our own power, the wind came back and it was very blustery for the rest of the trip to March…

These ‘drains’ do go on and on, and it takes a bit to keep awake… Auto pilot almost across the vast fenland area..

At Whittlesey we easily got round the very narrow and tight 90 degree turn, I was lucky and got No Problem positioned just right for the turn, and it just took one reverse back to clear the corner and the stone walls that accompany it.. So then, across the Meridian Line at Floods Ferry…

 

And on into March passing the lovely gardens and various types of boat owned by the lucky townsfolk who live by the water…

Wish they would cut the overhanging trees though, it’s a bit like a slalom cruising through the town trying to keep the chimney from being swept off!

Off for a pint now at the pub right by the mooring… handy!!

River Nene goes up then down as we cruise to Peterborough

Today – Alwalton to Stanground, River Nene, 6.5 miles 2 locks
Weekend – Moored Alwalton

Oh what a wet weekend, and the River Nene did what it loves to do, rise and fall so quickly you dare not blink!  After the heavy rain it rose 8 inches, then this morning it had dropped 6 inches, but certainly not enough rain to bother us going downstream this morning. The higher water level meant the water was piling over the back gate of the lock we were moored near causing a huge amount of foam..

This foam was flying up in the air and all over the place during our time there, amazing!

So a fairly quiet weekend for us, but the girls managed to get their ‘walkies’ quite often, so they were happy, and with the weather having calmed down somewhat, we pulled the pins this morning to make our way toward the Middle Levels and off the lovely River Nene..

 On through the very ornate Milton Bridge near Ferry Meadows, then quite a surprise just round the corner where, in the ‘grounds’ of the Nene Park Trust, some boats moored up without a visible licence between them..

 

Not normally one to complain, but not only was I surprised but I was sad and sorry to see these moored where they were right alongside Bluebell Wood and its unique boardwalks close to the Nene..

Onward then, and not stopping at Ferry Meadows this time, we continued on through Orton Lock the last one for us on the Nene..

We stopped on Peterborough embankment to pick up some fresh fruit and veg from Asda which is very close by, but as ever, this area is almost desolute and populated by the local drunks and drug users, as well as tons of ducks and geese making it a ‘wellie boot duck and dodge the beggers’ visit. Not even the weeds along the embankment river edge have been pulled.. no wonder no families can be seen.. a far cry indeed from the waterfront at Ely.. shame..

Also, while I am having a toot, I know that the fishing season starts in a couple of weeks time, June 17^th isn’t it?  Well I was not overly happy with the way that the fishing ‘pegs’ have been made in readiness..

For sure that weedkiller must have soaked into the river, and this has been done along a huge stretch of river running into Peterborough at intervals of around 30 yards.. Ummmmm not good..

Certainly not wanting to stay the night on the embankment we moved on to Stanground, leaving the Nene to continue to the sea…

Right turn here then under the railway bridge…

And past the interesting mooring for the pub!….

I will try one year!! Teehee!!

Moored now on the lock moorings at Stanground ready to enter the Middle Levels when the lock opens in the morning when we will cruise to March which will take about 4 hours.. should have fun round the 90 degree turn at Whittlesey.. steadily does it with Vic on standby with barge pole on front I guess!…

We pass the prettiest lock at Water Newton on the way to Alwalton

Wansford Station to Alwalton, River Nene, 3 miles 1 lock

We did a quick Tesco order yesterday, just a top up to last us over the Bank Holiday really.  We didn’t want to stop at Wansford over the holiday period as it would be really busy.  The Tesco driver was tickled pink to be delivering to a boat on the Nene, “Never before have I done anything like this” says he, and I guess his workload was not heavy as he asked us loads of questions about living aboard No Problem..

It was a pity though that we had to carry the stuff back over the bridge, there is a lovely EA mooring right beside where he delivered and right beside the Nene Valley Railway station but……

Here you can see how close it is to the station..

Does anyone know why this mooring has been abandoned?  I really must phone EA to find out, and if there are no answers here, then I will because I really think it ought to be sorted out.

So the pins were pulled at lunchtime from the lovely mooring on the other side of the bridge from the pics above.  We very much enjoyed it there, and only a couple of boats stopped overnight in all the time we stayed.  Passing boats numbered about 2 or 3 a day that is all, so it is still very quiet on the Nene at the moment.

Oh here is the swan I was talking about yesterday, you can see two of them sitting on mum, there is one in the water and another three under her wings.. they will be much bigger when we come back, I’ll take some more pics then for us to compare!

First and only lock today…

Beautiful area this, and perhaps one of the most picturesque locks and mill houses on the whole river I guess… here is the mill house from downstream looking back at the lock..

We were going to stop not long after this after a tip off from the Two Ds of NB Gypsy Rover that there was a good mooring about a mile away.. but whether it was because the level of the river has dropped since they passed a few weeks ago, or whether we just didn’t see it I don’t know, but we did try several places but with no chance of getting close to the edge to be able to get ashore..  So here is our mooring this evening…

A bywater beside the lock at Alwalton.  Lucky lucky that nobody was here!  Having had only GPRS the last couple of weeks while we have been in rural areas there is a High Speed Internet connection from this location, which means I can get some windows updates at speeds in excess of 1.4MB per sec.. The mobile internet sure has come on over this year, no more downloading updates for hours and hours at a meager 1.80 kbs!!

I’ll update the picture albums too over the next couple of days.. Hope you all have a good weekend.. don’t forget BBQs tomorrow night before all that rain comes!

Enjoying the Nene at Wansford Station

Moored Wansford Station, River Nene

There was nothing more to do today than to watch the local swans moving up and down the river, occassionally chasing off Canada and Greylag geese who dared venture into their territory.  The swans almost bark as they puff up their wings and paddle menacingly through the water after the intruders.. there is a reason why.. awwww..

Each evening all the little ones climb aboard mum for a trip along the river.. almost to the minunte each evening too.  They do look funny all poking out from under her wings trying to get the best view!

Across the river are fields of corn, and in the breeze it looks like waves on the sea, almost magical.  Around the fields the farmers have left strips of land which contain the most wonderful wild flowers, here some magnificant yellow ones

I do love this time of year, everything is so fresh and green.

We sat out for all of today doing next to nothing, and this evening yet another bbq.  That is now 3 times more bbqs than we had the whole of last summer!  The girls Lucy and Meg got their walk this evening and we took off through those fields of corn to the small village of Stibbington..

This Stibbington Hall a grand building indeed which apparently dates back to 1625.  In fact the whole village is made up of beautiful houses, there is a very splendid Manor as well!

Farmer Giles says in a comment on the blog that the diesel at Ely is at 90p a litre.. wow, it sure is getting high, gawd knows what it will be in November when we lose the red stuff and move over to normal.  We are being very very careful now on when we run our engine to charge the batteries.  At the moment we are finding that running for 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes as late as possible in the evening is keeping the batteries topped up a treat.  We certainly have cut consuption down by at least one third by being thrifty.

Cruising along too, we are cutting the engine while waiting for locks to fill or empty, that too is saving fuel.  Oh and many thanks to you Farmer Giles for the useful information from the Great Ouse.

Dunno what we are doing tomorrow, might move, might stay here…. ho hum…

Chuff chuff to Peterborough for the day

Moored Wansford Station, River Nene

I expect my grandchildren will recognise one of the engines in the picture?

A great day out today via the Nene Valley Railway to Peterborough where we had lunch out at one of the cafes on the pavement enjoying a bit of people watching before going to the large market to top up on fruit and veg. ..

Back aboard No Problem late in the afternoon and it was definitely sit out time while the bbq cooked us a nice meal.. Lucy though, wanted a walk as usual, and kept her eye on me seeing if I was going to reach for my walking stick..

The meadows here are covered in buttercups as you can see.. it really is a lovely mooring.  Here Vic collecting some kindling wood for the fire just along the path from No Problem. 

It is cold enough in the evenings at the moment to light the wood stove.  We managed to pick up a few logs along the way, and with one bag of coal left, we really don’t want too many more cool evenings though!

Oh yes, at Elton, before we arrived here, we met Jenny and Mick again, last meeting them on a hire boat in Braunston a year or so ago.. this time they have their own narrowboat, Trundle..

Avid readers of the blog.. nice to meet you both again, and we hope you enjoy your trip to Skipton!..

Not much more else to report really over the last few days, yesterday I spent out most of the day walking from here back to Yarwell and Nassington across country returning via the Nene Way.. some 9 miles too!!

Phew, I think I caught up most of the last few days happenings now..

Penalty shoot out in Russia.. wow!

Happy Birthday.....

KIERA!!!!!!

Have a super duper day sweetie pie!!

 

Eldest granddaughter is getting a bit grown up now!

Pompey win the cup whooppeeeeeee.. And from Elton I tour England to see Mark Knopfler

 The last time my home team won the FA Cup was in 1939, then the war started, and the cup was taken to a village very close to mine called Lovedean for safekeeping behind the bar until the war was over!!

I have had the most fantastic weekend this weekend, and Saturday was just really special watching the match, I nearly bit through my finger tips, my nails have suffered!!

My father did go to the semi final at Wembley this year, but unfortunately he was in Malta on his hols last Saturday, so I am hoping that he saw the final from one of the bars out there.  He went to the final in 1939, he could have got tickets for Saturday as well!

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Since the last blog – Elton to Wansford, River Nene, 7 miles 3 locks

Oh, so much has happened this weekend especially.  On Friday I travelled to Brum to meet daughter Wendie, and it was off to………………….

Mark Knopfler’s concert, him of Dire Straits front man for those not in the no.. but not before a grand tour of England!!.. Easy eh? Peterborough to Birmingham International Station?  Yep, but I took a different route!..

As I came down the steps at Peterborough to the platform.. “The train now arriving at platform five is for Birmingham” etc.. I was texting Wendie as I came down the steps, and got on the train that had just pulled into the platform… errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr except.. it had pulled into platform FOUR.  I thought it was a bit of a posh train to be going to Birmingham..

I settled into my seat and saw a train pull in to the platform beside platform four… alarm bells… EEK!!.. That looked more like my type of train.. the whistle went, the train went, and I went to Yorkshire!  Wakefield actually.. as far away from Birmingham as I could get.  The guard had sympathy that I really did want to see Mark Knopfler “He is on this evening”.. The station staff at Wakefield were wonderful, and with no charge from them sent me on my way on a direct train to Birmingham.. “We are happy for you to continue with no extra charge, it depends on the guard on the train and whether he will use his discretion”..

Along he came.. “Tickets, passes and excuses please” he called as he entered the carriage.. Yeah right.. I have an excuse anyway!

“Mark Knopfler?” “Yep, and I’m taking a long route to get to see him you know”.. “I like Mark Knopfler, enjoy the concert, enjoy your trip” and he clipped my tickets and winked..

Front row seats this time made my night, and we sang and jived through 17 tracks before retiring to one of the local hotels for some last order stuff and some quality mum and daughter time… watch this space, lots to catch up on blog wise..

Well done David Bailey Wendie, some lovely pics you took.. two of which are here!

A quiet day at Elton

Moored Elton, River Nene

This morning I was surprised that there was no rain wakening me.  It stayed that way too even after breakfast, and looking at the weather over the meadows I decided to take the girls Lucy and Meg for a wander.

There were some geocaches in the area, and I marked them up on the map and set off with the gps to try find them.  Some of the route followed the old disused railway that was once part of the Nene Valley Railway.. a lot of it is still used as a footpath, but where people haven’t bothered it is overgrown and gone back to nature or the local farmer whatever.

I was annoyed at one bit when I came to a road crossing there was high barbed wire over a fence stopping my very enjoyable walk.  I do wish these disused railways could be allowed to be used as footpaths you know.

Anyway we managed to scale that with no rips to skin or clothes and carried on after crossing the road.  Much of what was Elton Station platforms are still intact, but it was so overgrown that eventually we had to turn back and use roads to reach our intended goal.

We successfully managed to find 3 of the caches and duly signed the log before heading back to Elton via a different route hoping to make it before the rain started..

This delightful house called “Island House” is, as the name suggests, completely surrounded by water, with the river on the far side of the house. behind me is a large copse.. this surely must be one of the most idyllic places to live.. Timed it just right, as the rain started not long after getting in doors.

Oh yes, by the way I forgot to say.. I did a weeks worth of recycling at Oundle before we left there, taking around 5 carrier bags a mile or so across the meadows and into Oundle..

Justified that I had done ‘my bit’ I noticed a couple of blokes just staring.  I knew they needed an explanation as to why this lady had ‘walked’ into the household recycling plant and carefully went round all the bins and containers with plastic, cardboard, paper, wine bottles, beer cans and the like.. I can’t imagine what they were thinking.. so I put them out of their misery and told them a bit about No Problem!

Sharing the Nene at Perio and sharing the field at Elton

Today – Fotheringhay to Elton, River Nene, 2.75 miles 1 lock
Yesterday - Ashton to Fotheringhay, 4.5 miles 3 locks

I was sorry to leave Ashton yesterday, I love that mooring there along the bywater near to the lock, it is always so peaceful, it is easy to get on and off the boat and the path outside is wide and green, ideal for sitting out and, of course, bbq’s

Here is blog reader Julia’s narrowboat Bumble B leaving their mooring at Ashton, look closely, tons and tons of bubbles emerging from the cratch I think…

a very novel way of leaving a mooring I must say.. almost like when the big cruise liners used to leave port with streamers flowing!

We left soon afterwards and headed off towards Fotheringhay..

Here at Cotterstock waiting for the lock to be filled, then past one of the very many churches along the banks of the Nene.. this one just after the lock at Cotterstock on the west bank..

There were plenty of rowing crews out between Cotterstock and Perio Lock.  There is a huge boathouse at Tansor, and the eights and fours practice from there to the lock itself.

It wasn’t very helpful to any of us yesterday as the wind was blowing quiet fiercely across the Nene, trying to push me into the rowers who were themselves, trying to keep off the northern bank.

Once through Perio Lock it wasn’t long until the magnificent church at Fotheringhay came into view..

Here we filled up with water and moored in the haunted area on the other side of the road bridge outside what is left of the castle where Mary Queen of Scots was said to have been beheaded.  All that is there now is a huge mound and I wonder why these two have so much interest in it?

Well, I guess with all the holes in it there must be hundreds and hundreds of rabbits, and loads of them were running all over this mound up and down the rabbit holes!

This then, was our mooring last night.. once again a lovely grassy area.. but no bbq last night, it turned quite cold and windy..

On to Elton today, a very enjoyable cruise done at tick-over pace enjoying the river as ever I was. I did do a bbq tonight.. oh I got a new one by the way, at Oundle, and it is great.  It is a barrel type one on legs, so I can ‘close’ the top if I want, or if we have the family then it will act as two bbq’s.. Yummy spicey chicken, a bit of steak and a boar and mustard sausage each tonight!

Took the girls out this evening across the meadows and realised that there is a bull in the field that No Problem is moored in.. Good job he didn’t come over when I was cooking the steak, he might have been a tad upset!!

Happy Birthday day for Jen...

              

     

Happy Birthday Jennie!!

Have a great day!!

Lots of love from us both xx

 

        

Party time dan saff from Oundle

Moored Oundle, River Nene

I am whacked out tonight after two days of party time!  I have been ‘dan’ saff’ for youngest daughter Jennie’s 30th birthday party and what a do it was too..

Here is the view from the venue overlooking HMS Warrior and Portsmouth Dockyard.. Spot the aircraft carrier in the centre of the pic

The venue was the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, and here are a few pics from the party taken with my mobile phone..

Me on the left, then birthday gal Jennie and her elder sister Wendie on the right..

Jennie about to make a big move across ‘air’.. scarey stuff this was, and I can’t blame her for not looking down… mind you, I did!!..

This is me walking on air.. or seemingly so, it is glass near the top of the 170 metre tower.  That view is straight down, and you can just about make out the white circles at the bottom which are parasols. 

So Saturday night I didn’t get to bed ‘till 3am and had a lazy day yesterday with the all of the family out in the garden enjoying the grandchildren and also enjoying a bbq.. like most others I guess in this glorious weather.

Returned home this morning and just crashed sitting out in a chair beside No Problem… shattered!

Now then, who was it that visited No Problem this weekend and left a lovely bottle of red wine?  Vic is never the best one to remember names you know… if ever you visit No Problem and I am not around, get him to write your name down!. Tehee.. So please let me know who you were.  I know you are having a boat built for you.. well, at least he remembered that!

Fotheringhay tomorrow I think, that is as long as I wake up sometime tomorrow!

Market Day.. then back to the sunshine at Ashton Lock

Moored Ashton Lock, River Nene

An extremely laid back day today.. some bookwork early on before going over to Oundle Town with Vic and the girls to the market.  It was a sort of training morning for the now 11 month old Meg.  She has never been to a busy town before and she was very quiet as we weaved between the market stalls.

One item did take her by surprise and she was intrigued by it.. a small rocking horse made of a fury fabric!

Coffee out at one of the street cafes, and they had a welcomed bowl of water for the girls too, then it was back to No Problem for a salad lunch in the sunshine beside the boat.

Nothing to do except enjoy sitting out reading before preparing the evening bbq..

Not all for us by the way.. Chas and Ann of Moore2Life, our summer travelling companions, are sharing our bbq as they don’t have one right now.. ha you can see my one is well bent and battered!  But it works!

I know I know, I said last night that I would probably get some steak.. well I weighed myself this morning and I have put on a couple of pounds.. , so it was chicken tonight with salad.. gotta get those two pounds off before I will allow myself a steak!

Over the meadows and round to Ashton tonight with the girls, and here is the resident peacock on the wall…

His lady friend was calling from across the village, and until she comes into the church yard he is not going to bother to display that lovely tail of his me thinks!

Stuart Sampson of NABO has urgently asked boaters to answer a couple of questions..

Hello all

I am due to contribute to the BWAF Licensing group on Monday and I ask you and as many other boaters as possible to visit:-

http://www.nabo.org.uk/fee2.html  -  and answer just two questions.

I will say little more at this stage apart from emphasising the urgency and importance. I do not want to sway your opinions in any way but you are welcome to email me direct with any further comments.

I apologise if you have been asked these questions by others or that you feel you have already answered them in our last fee survey. However circumstances or views may have changed and these questions are differently phrased (not by me I hasten to add).

Please follow the link and respond, it might affect you all, and pass the link on to other boaters.

All the best to you


Stuart Sampson
NABO Chairman
0113 2842048

There are just two questions with ‘yes’ ‘no’ type answers….. won’t take a sec to do..

I think I might take a picnic out tomorrow and wander across the countryside for a few hours if I can tear myself away from doing nothing in this glorious weather!

Reflective moods on the river at Ashton Lock

Moored Ashton Lock, River Nene

It’s a nice mooring here beside Ashton Lock…

Here the last of the day’s sun peeking through.. But this morning I went off to Kettering on the bus from Oundle.  Annie of NB Moore2Life had to go ‘dan saff’ today, and I thought I would see her off at the station and have a look around a place I have never been to.

I got back about 2 ish after having got some sausages from the excellent butchers in Oundle after I got off the bus.. bbq tonight for sure. 

I got two each of all the sausages they did, and they were yummy.. all different flavours.  The poor old bbq has had it really, it got knocked sometime ago and it’s all bent up, but just about usable until I can get close enough to Wilcos where I can get another one.

Walked the girls this evening over to Ashton.  Walking alongside the millstream gave me an opportunity for a couple of real reflection pictures, and are just typical of this river..

It’s hard to see where the water starts it’s reflection, and here a couple of ducks chilling out..

Quite a surprise while walking one of the footpaths in Ashton, some wild mushrooms.. big ones too.  They are going to taste scrumptious tomorrow when bbq’d.. ummm I might spoil us and nip into Oundle to get a bit of steak to go with them!

Well, well, well.. What a wonderful weekend at Wadenhoe

Today Wadenhoe to Aston, River Nene, 6 miles 4 locks
Weekend Moored Wadenhoe

All the ‘W’s then!  I should add to that ‘Weather’ too, because that is what really made our stay there so special..

We weren’t the only ones totally laid back.. this dog was really enjoying himself, this is the view across the river from our mooring of the weekend.  Out came the bbq, table and chairs and on went the short sleeved shirts and suntan cream..

The local pub had a beer festival on too, there were loads of barrels set up in one of the bars, and at just £2 a pint I couldn’t resist!…

There were the same amount of barrels on the right hand wall too.. but I couldn’t take a pic of them all.  The cider in the foreground is actually scrumpy!

So I had a great birthday, and thankyou all for your good wishes too.  Mark and Sharlene, thankyou for that lovely card, I really enjoyed it.. One family card that I got made me smile…

Grandma you’ve got ages yet
Until you’re over the hill
A funky movin’ glam ‘n’ groovin’
grandma who’s just brill!

Thanks Jessica!! Yep, that’s me alright!!

We left Wadenhoe today after filling up with water and collecting a Tesco home deliver order.. getting water was very difficult as there is a boat which is moored permanently at the water point.  I met the guy in the pub a couple of days ago and asked him why he is moored there right on the water point.  “That is where the landowner has told me to moor my boat.. don’t worry, just come upside me and reach across”

Much easier said than done as No Problem was about 12ft longer, I had to moor stern to stern you see because there was a tupperware tart cart gp cruiser moored behind him.  Getting the hose out and across was hazardous… anyway managed it but only just.. goodbye Wadenhoe for now and THAT boat..

Meg enjoying the views on the way to Lilford Lock..

She does love to travel on the edge of the stern deck.. she will fall off one day you know!.. Lilford Lock then.. oh and here is what you have to watch out for and what do do.  I don’t think I have shown you this before…

Lots of warnings about everything, plus some very up to date information underneath.. this is the operations box etc…

All push button.. very easy.  For me on the tiller, just need to put the rope round the bollard to stop No Problem going forward when the water disappears underneath the gilly.  Perfectly easy now the water has gone back down to summer levels..  Now in the Lilford Estate area, a lovely bridge just after the lock..

Lilford House itself.. A jacobean mansion built around 1635 of Ketton stone..

Look at all those chimneys!! The on the other bank is the small hamlet of Pilton..

Wasn’t long ‘till we were at Oundle.. difficult to get into the marina, and I missed first time and got No Problem stuck broadside across the Nene.  Poled off and had another crack at it, this time getting it smack on.. we put diesel on although probably didn’t really need it and got some bits and bobs from the chandlers there. 

Poled… I think I got the right spelling.. the online dictionary says…

Noun
1. a long slender rounded piece of wood, metal, or other material
2. up the pole Brit, Austral & NZ informal
a. slightly mad
b. in a predicament [Latin palus a stake]

For sure 2b would be exactly right!!

Getting away from the marina was difficult too with the wind determined to hold me into the quay, but with some brutal persuasion managed to reverse No Problem into the ‘pool’ of the marina, spin round and exit through the very tight gap back out onto the Nene..

From there a fairly short hop to our mooring this evening, a beautiful day’s cruise.. just exceptional this river is.. red kite, deer, goslings, ducklings, nesting swans, grebe, snipe, muntjac… the pick of the day..

It was nice to be greeted by Julia of NB Bumble ‘B’ when we put the pins in here at Aston.. an avid reader of the blog she tells me.. a guided tour of No Problem followed and she agreed with me that the throws over the chairs make all the difference!.. Nice to meet you Julia, and glad you agree!

This evening after dinner a wander for the girls Lucy and Meg over to the village of Aston.. Outside the church door was this rather different errrrrrrrr …… art form?

Well it caught my eye!

Wadenhoe

Moored Wadenhoe, River Nene

A lovely day today, I went walking, of course, to a lovely village fairly close to Wadenhoe called Aldwinckle, and well worth the walk, pics to follow of that.

This evening I have been updating the picture albums.. April for sure is packed with pics, some 122 of them in fact!

There are pictures of snow, pictures of shirt sleeves and pictures of flood waters.. all in one month.. amazing stuff.

Already there are some 17 pics in the May album and it’s only 3 days old.   There is just so much to take a pic of, I am in my element here on the Nene, ‘tis the most beautiful river showing me the most beautiful places…

This is Wadenhoe

‘Tis my birthday tomorrow and Annie, my close friend, is going to prepare a meal for us all on Moore2Life.. The grandchildren have sent cakes for me too!  But I gotta wait another year though, for my bus pass!

Vic is very constructive at Wadenhoe

Moored Wadenhoe, River Nene

The scouts are camping in the field above us by the church, but they are not allowed down here by the River because “It’s a bit boggy”.. The Nene Way passes about 50 yards away up the bank..so we have the area all to ourselves and are loving it!  So are Lucy and Meg, who have spent most of the day playing outside between snoozing in the warm sunshine.

Vic has been busy though.  This morning he started on making the top bunk wider…

He has curved the bunk to fit the line of the wardrobe so when coming into No Problem with the bunks up we won’t knock ourselves on an ‘edge’.. it does the job just fine. Here is the finished construction..

He has put a slight lip around the edge as we will need to put in an extra piece of foam to fill the gap for now.  I could go for a larger piece of foam to fit the whole thing I suppose but it seems such a waste… I want to see if an added bit will work first.  We have also put the ladder at the end close to the wardrobe instead of in the middle where it used to be.  This will give more space for sleeping as the ‘handles’ of the ladder bend inwards if you see what I mean.

Hope you like that Kiera and Jessica!

The two older grandchildren tend to sleep on the top bunk!

This afternoon I wandered into Wadenhoe village.  One of the nicest villages on the River Nene.  Most of the buildings are of stone, and the local pub has a stone floor.  The old post office still has a post box outside..

Closed now, this Post Office was the first village post office to have an electronic telegraph.  This was because in Disraeli’s government the Chancellor of the Exchequer lived in the huge Wadenhoe House.

Here is the Mill House…

During the summer months there is hardly any water coming through the water mill, today it was piling through, although the Nene has gone down by some 12 inches since yesterday afternoon when we arrived here..

We have only seen a couple of boats passing today, it will be interesting to see how much traffic there is on the Nene over the Bank Holiday weekend..

Hope you all have a good one by the way!

Bumpy ride through Titchmarsh Lock

Thrapston Sailing Club to Wadenhoe, River Nene, 3.75 miles 1 lock

A walk this morning around the Nature Reserve and Thrapston Lake took a couple of hours, before visiting the Post Office again to see if the post had arrived.. “Yep it is here” and out from the back came a huge box!!  I certainly wasn’t expecting that and had only the ruck sack with me.. sheeeeeesh I needed wheels!!

‘Tis my birthday in a few days time, you see, and all the presents and cards were in the box together with a reversing camera for No Problem..   More of that later.  Anyway, a quick phone call to Vic and he met me up the track that leads from the moorings to the town.  I managed to carry the box half way back somehow, more mind over matter than sheer strength I think.. but was never so pleased to see my husband come round the bend than when he did!

The mooring fits 3 narrowboats…it was getting too busy for me.. now there are 7 narrowboats and another trying to get in all moored on top of one another.. enough of that, so we had a quick bite to eat and extracted ourselves along with Moore2Life to go downstream to Wadenhoe.

Off came the chimney and the satellite dish as well as the barrel and buckby can.  The footbridge downstream is low, and still the river was up a bit, but we were OK underneath it, rather pleased with ourselves on our decision to remove the chimney, for sure it would have hit it.

This is Titchmarsh Farm Bridge, easily underneath this one.  If it had been the same bridge as was there in 2005 there is no way we would have got under it.. here is what it was like before it fell into the Nene.. or a boater broke it more like!! ..

Titchmarsh Lock was wicked today, so much water going over the back gates, I knew it was going to be difficult to hold No Problem against all that water while the lock emptied..

No need to open the paddles to fill this one when the guillotine is down!.. and once it is full, still there is too much water..

Here the water pouring over the front guillotine gate.  It was desperately hard to hold the boat from going forward once the guilly was raised.. Phew I sure was pleased to be away from that one..

Hiding in the undergrowth I spotted a mandarin Duck and quickly snapped a shot of it.  When I looked at it later I see there is another duck in the same pic on the top left.  I think it is sitting on a nest.  Does anyone have any idea what it is?  Could it be a female mandarin?..

We have been extremely lucky to get one of the two prime moorings by the church at Wadenhoe, Chas and Ann of NB Moore2Life have the other mooring, but they are luckier than us, they have a gardener cutting the grass outside their boat!..

Mind you, I don’t know how long he will stay.. Moore2Life’s next door neighbours have a dog called Meg sitting outside of her boat.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she is thinking of doing a bit of rounding up…

Lucy, on the other hand, seems to have spotted something else more interesting in the other direction!